Strand handling apparatus



June 27, 1939. J. N. SELVIG STRAND HANDLING APPARATUS Filed June 12, 1937 FIG.

INVENTOR J. N. SE'LV/G A TTORNEY 5 the next one or more coils fo aoface of the body of stran Patented June 27, 1939 UNITED STATES 2,163,711 STRAND HANDLING APPARATUS John N. Selvig, Westfield,

ern Electric Company, N. Y., a corporation Application June 12, 1

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a strand handling apparatus and more particularly to means for preventing the unintended and undesired loosening of coils of strand on a reel, spool,copi or the like from which strand is being withdrawn.

In various forms of strand handling apparatus, strand is unwound from a supply thereof wound on a reel, cop or the like by being drawn off in a direction 'roughlyi parallel to the axis of the wound mass of strand and over one end of the mass, the reel or other support being stationary. It may happen, especially if the strand is more or less stiff or slippery or loosely wound or wound under irregular tension or for other'reasons, that llowing the one being unwound at any given moment, will loosen slightly or otherwise slipout of place, and, especially if the axis of the support is vertical, may fall across or otherwise become entangled with the portion of strand being unwound or other portions.

, An object of the present invention is to provide simple, effective and durable means to retain the coils of strand on a reel, spool, cop or the like yieldingly in; place and to permit withdrawal of strand therefrom one coil at atime.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention contemplates means to retain coils of strand on a reel, spool, cop or the like comprising a strand positioned around a portion of the sur d wound on a reel of the like and across a plurality of the surface coils thereof, the retaining strand being preferably yieldingly retained in position to exert sufficient pressure against the outer coils to retain the 5 same in place until withdrawn and yet to permit withdrawal one coil at a time.

Other objects and features of the invention will appear from the following detailed description of one embodiment of the inven ion taken 40 in connection with the accompanying drawing in which the same reference numerals are applied to identical parts in the several figures and in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of a strand supply reel 45 having applied thereto a strand retaining device constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view thereof in side elevation;

Fig. 3 is a view corresponding to Fig. l, of a modified form, and

Fig. 4 is a view thereof corresponding to Fig. 2.

The embodiment of the invention disclosed in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises a supply reel It stationarily supported on any suitable means such as a pedestal l l with a central stud extending up 55 into the axial bore of the reel to hold the same N. 3., assignor to West- Incorporated, New York, f New York 937, Serial No. 147,907

The reel stands with its axis vertical.

Strand I2 is wound on the cessive layers of closely having an opposite spiral of winding from the next so that the strand winds up in one layer and down in the next.

The strand i2 is being drawn off upwardly in the general direction of the axis of the reel, by means not shown, over a smooth surfaced guide cap i3 resting on the upper cap is ordinarily stationary as shown. However, other strand guide devices, stationary or moving may be used instead, the pertinent features here being that the wound body of strand I2 on the reel is stationary and that the strand is pulled 15 off over one end of the reel;

To retain the coils of the strand l2 releasably in place on the reel iii, a retainer strand is is secured at one of its ends near the-bottom of the reel Hi to a stationary peg is mounted at one side'go of the reel. From there the strand I6 is drawn both upwardly of the reel l0 and arcuately around and in contact with the surface of the mass of strand 12 on the reel, to a sheave I! at the top of a second peg or post l5, and down to a weight I8 slidable freely on the post, the other end: of the strand it being secured to the weight to be drawn taut thereby over the sheave H and around the mass of wound strand l2. The peg l4 and. post iii are so located with respect to the reel H3 that the strand i6 is: applied to the substantially cylindrical surface of the wound supply of strand [2 on the reel to extend both arcuately partially around and diagonally upwardly-over the greater portion of the extent of the surface.

Thus the strand l6 crosses and presses against each of a majority of the superficial coils of the wound-body of the strand l2 on the reel and each. such coil of the strand I2 is held in place by the strand It until the unwinding process reaches that particular coil, when it is drawn off without difficulty.

If a wound coil of the stran uppermost contact of the strand it with the wound mass becomes loosened and slips down it will be caught and held by the strand I6 before it can drop far enough to become troublesome.

It must be remembered that for each size of strand l2 and diameter of wound mass there is 'a critical angle between a loosened coil and a coil being unwound, on the smaller side of which no tangling occurs. Hence, in many cases it is not in practise necessary to have all of the superficial coils of the wound mass held in situ by the retainer strand. If enough of these coils from the in place. or substantially so. reel, ordinarily in suc abutted coils, each layer (1 l2 abovethe head of the reel. The 10- tatable' 'on' the post middle up and down are held it does no harm to leave some of the uppermost and lowermost coils unretained. In such cases the simple apparatus disclosed in Figs. 1 and 2 is practicable and operative to produce the desired result.

The arcuate extent of the contact of strand It? with the surface coils of the strand l2 may be varied as found desirable or necessary in individual cases by varying the positions of the peg l4 and post IS with respect to each other and to the reel It). It is even practicable in some cases to dispense entirely with the peg M, and to secure the lower end of the strand IE to the lower portion of the post I5.

It may, furthermore, in some instances be preferable to carry the strand i=6 ina whole turn or more than a whole turn about the body of strand l2 on the reel.

In the case of some strands l2 and reels Ill on which they are wound, it may be preferable to have the strand. it cover a greater portion of the surface coils of the strand l2 than is possible'with thefarran'gement shown in Figs. 1 and .2. In the modified form of the invention shown in Figs. 3 and a collar I9 is adjustably slidable and rol5 and carries a horizontal arm 20 extending out from the post I 5 to a distance about equal to the distance to the axis of the reel Ill. The arm 20 may well be a flat strip of spring metal so arranged as to be rigid against flexure vertically but elastically flexible horizontally. The lower end of the strand [5 is secured to the outer end of the arm'2il and is held against the bottom surface coil of the strand [2 thereby.

-The arm'2'0 is adjusted by means such as the thumb screw 2| to elastically follow the diminishing radius of the mass of wound strand l2.

An. arm 22 similar to the arm 20 is slidably and rotatably adjustably mounted on the post .I 5 near .thumb screw 23 on the post.

its .top and. is adjustable by means such as the A sheave 24 is mounted on the outer end of the arm 22 to be pressed against one .of the top surface coils of the mass of strand l2. and to be oriented to be substantially tangent to the strand l6 at its uppermost contact with the body of strand on the down to the weight I 3.

reel. The strand it passes from the mass of strand 12 over the sheave 24 and over another sheave 25 near the inner end .of the arm'fszand The arm 22 is also so adjusted that the sheave 24 will elastically follow the diminishing radius of the body of strand on the reel.

'Inieither above apparatus the weight I8 causes the strand IE to hug the body of strand on the reel at all times from full reel to empty reel.

In a third modified form of the apparatus the strand I6 may be made to be longitudinally elastically extensible, e. g. of rubber or the like or of a helical spring covered with a smooth sheath, e. g. of braided textile threads or of leather or the like. In this case, the weight l8 may be dispensed with entirely and the longitudinally stretched strand l6 attached at its lower end to the peg M 'or to the bottom of the post [5 and at its upper end to the top of the post l5;

Although the apparatus herein disclosed shows the reel as oriented vertically, the invention is not limited to such orientation, the modifications required for a tilted or horizontal reel being self evident.

The embodiments of the invention herein disclosed are illustrative only and may be modified and departed from in many ways without depart- 'ing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as pointed out in and limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1..In a strand handling apparatus, strand.sup-.

ply means comprising a supply reel to hold strand material wound in. coils thereon and having a head over which the strand material. may be drawn in successive coils, a retainer strand passing helically over the strand material on the.

over the said head.

2. In a strand handling apparatus, strand supply means comprising a stationary strand supply reel having'a headover which a strand is drawn in successive coils from a body of strand,

7 coils thereof until forcibly withdrawn coil by 0011 1235 wound in coils on the reel, in combination with' means to retain in'place coils. not yetunwound from the reel at any time, the said means comprising a stationary retainer strand not part of the strand on the reel and passing helically overthe body of strand on the reel, and means to maintain the retainer strand yieldinglyin contact with the surface coils of the body of strand on the reel to prevent displacement of any coil of the body of strand except the coil being drawn off, the retainer strand being substantially smooth and without obstruction over the entire working surface thereof.

.JOHN N. SELVIG. 

